Method and device for minimizing or alleviating the effects of loss of teeth in animals

ABSTRACT

A method and device for alleviating the effects of loss of lower front jaw teeth in sheep is disclosed wherein a plate is attached to the upper front jaw portion of the sheep to close the gap between the upper and lower front jaw portions caused by the loss of teeth. The plate is shaped to fit against the upper palate and upper jaw of the sheep. The plate is retained in position in the jaw by flexible ties passing through the plate and through the soft tissue adjacent the upper jaw of the sheep, and secured externally of the jaw. Instead of flexible ties, rigid pins may be inserted through the soft tissue adjacent the jaw, one end of the pins engaging the plate and the other end secured against the external jaw portion of the sheep.

United States Patent Hall et al.

[ METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MINIMIZING OR ALLEVIATING THE EFFECTS OF LOSS OF TEETH [N ANIMALS [75] Inventors: Russell George Hall; Keith Lea, both of Colwyn Bay, Wales [73] Assignee: Alan George Hall, Llaududno,

Wales 22 Filed: July 26,1973

21 Appl.No.:383,0l8

[451 July 1, 1975 3,462,838 8/1969 Alstergen 32/12 3,474,537 lO/l969 Christensen 32/10 A 3,664,022 5/1972 Small 32/10 A [57] ABSTRACT A method and device for alleviating the effects of loss of lower front jaw teeth in sheep is disclosed wherein a plate is attached to the upper front jaw portion of the sheep to close the gap between the upper and lower front jaw portions caused by the loss of teeth. The plate is shaped to fit against the upper palate and upper jaw of the sheep. The plate is retained in position in the jaw by flexible ties passing through the plate and through the soft tissue adjacent the upper jaw of the sheep, and secured externally of the jaw. Instead of flexible ties, rigid pins may be inserted through the soft tissue adjacent the jaw, one end of the pins engaging the plate and the other end secured against the external jaw portion of the sheep.

16 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures AY/1mm! 15 a 12 11 I III/111111111 ,"u 9 FIG. 8 16 17 WIIAVA IIII' METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MINIMIZING OR ALLEVIATING THE EFFECTS OF LOSS OF TEETH IN ANIMALS The present invention relates to a method and device for minimizing or alleviating the effects of loss of teeth in animals, such as broken mouth in sheep, or similar disabilities in other animals such as in animals where feeding is accomplished by a hard surface gripping against a soft surface to hold feed prior to tearing the device correcting the absence of a hard surface.

The condition in sheep known as broken mouth is caused by the loss of some or all of the lower front teeth of the sheep which prevents the sheep from plucking grass with resultant deterioration in the condition of the animal. It is to be noted that sheep whilst having upper and lower molars, only have six front teeth on their lower jaw and no front teeth on their upper jaw. The deterioration caused by the animal being unable to feed properly frequently results in premature slaughter of sheep from three or four years of age. It has been realised that if a sheep with broken mouth could be kept alive and in good condition for at least an extra year so as to produce a lamb and fleece, the lamb could be sold for an amount which would largely contribute towards the cost of providing a replacement breeding ewe.

According to the present invention a method for minimizing or alleviating the effects of loss of teeth in animals or for facilitating the gripping of feedstuff by an animal which for feeding is dependent on a hard surface gripping against a soft surface, comprises insertion of at least one moulded plate into the mouth of an animal and securing the plate in position against a jaw of the animal; said plate being formed so as to reduce the free space between the upper and lower jaws of the animal and to provide a hard surface to enable the animal to feed.

Also according to the present invention, a device for minimizing or alleviating the effects of loss of teeth in animals or for facilitating the gripping of feedstuff by an animal which, for feeding, is dependent on a hard surface gripping against a soft surface, comprises a plate having at least a portion formed to substantially correspond to the contours of at least a front portion of a jaw of the animal and mean for securing and/or for facilitating securing of the plate in position on the jaw; said plate being shaped and dimensioned so that, when in position against the one jaw, it provides a surface which co-operates with the other jaw or with a device on the other jaw to enable the animal to feed.

The method and device will be described mainly with reference to a sheep although it is to be understood that other complaints in other animals may be similarly treated.

The plate is preferably moulded to substantially correspond with the contours of the front portion of the upper jaw (and/or roof of a sheep's mouth) since the plate can be more readily secured thereagainst and since the action of a sheeps tongue is less likely to dislodge the plate.

The plate is preferably secured by ties which may form sutures and may be made of metal, plastics material or natural filaments although preferably are made of nylon, gut or silver wire. As mentioned, the plate is preferably moulded to correspond substantially to the contours of at least a front portion of the upper jaw including the palate or roof of the sheeps mouth and will have a lip or flanged portion extending along the sides and front ends thereof so as to overlap the edge of the roof of the sheeps mouth and extend upwardly therefrom. An enlargement may be formed at the front end of the plate to form said cooperating surface for clamping or plucking feed material. The plate may also be formed to extend the dental pad posteriorly to accommodate any resorption of the bony structure of the lower jaw.

The plate is preferably substantially rigid and preferably made of glass fibre or epoxy resin or other plastics material although, in certain circumstances may be made of resilient material and such as resilient nylon, rubber or rubberoid material or other resilient plastics material.

The means for facilitating securing at the plate in a preferred embodiment comprises one or more apertures extending through the plate so as to enable one or more ties to be passed therethrough and to be secured, with the aid of a needle, by passing such upwardly through the sulcus and securing such on the upper outer surface of the sheeps upper jaw i.e. on the snout thereof. Alternatively, each tie may be secured in an aperture of the plate or ties may be secured in apertures in the plate. In this case, they may be stitched through the sulcus in the form of a suture and back downwardly to a further aperture in the plate and secured therein by tying or attached to a retention member. Alternatively, the ties may be attached to the plate or embedded therein e.g. during moulding, and thus form securing means which are part of the device.

Suitable antiseptics may be used to prevent sepsis of the sulcus after stitching. Each tie, when passed upwardly through the sulcus and outwardly of the top of the jaw, will preferably be secured on the snout of the sheep by passing them through one or more apertures in a disc locatable against the muzzle and forming the retention means and by securing the tie thereto. It has been found that such discs do not inconvenience the sheep and provide a ready and reliable method of securing the ties for holding the plate in position.

In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the apparatus for minimizing or alleviating the effects of broken mouth in sheep comprises in combination an integrally moulded plate conforming substantially to the contours of the upper roof of the mouth of a sheep and having a peripheral lip portion extending around the front and side portions thereof which, in position, extend upwardly; said plate having a surface or an enlargement at least in a front region thereof which is adapted to cooperate with the lower jaw or other device to enable the sheep to feed, and said plate having apertures in both side portions for receiving ties to enable plate to be secured in position. As mentioned previously, the ties will preferably be passed, with the aid of a needle, upwardly through the sulcus and secured either side of the snout by tying to a disc formed of any suitable material.

The plate is shaped to correspond substantially with the contours of the upper jaw or roof of the sheep's mouth by using a known casting process whereby a wax moulding is taken of the roof of a sheep's mouth and plaster of paris cast taken therefrom in a suitable tray. It is believed that, with a substantially rigid plate a minimal number of shapes and sizes of plates may be arrived at which will serve most sheep or breed thereof.

The front portion of the plate is of such shape and dimension as to reduce the spacing between the roof of the sheeps mouth and the lower jaw, particularly the gums where the teeth have fallen-out, such that the sheep is able to grip grass or other feeding material between its lowerjaw and the gripping surface of the plate an action which has been hitherto difficult once the teeth fall out because of the stop action created by the back molars which would restrict the anterior ends of the jaws from coming together and clamping grass.

The plate has apertures extending therethrough on each side thereof for receiving the ties of gut or nylon therein, each of said ties is passed upwardly through the sulcus and to the outer side of the sheeps upper jaw or snout and passed through apertures in a disc and secured thereto by tying. Preferably, two or more pairs of apertures are formed in each side.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a device without securing ties; FIG. 2 is an inverted plan view of the device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the device of FIG. I but hav' ing securing means secured thereto;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are respectively end, front and side views of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2',

FIGS. 7 and 8 are sections on the lines XX and Y-Y respectively of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are plan and side views of a retention member; and

FIGS. 11 and 12 are side elevations which illustrate the attachment of a device to a sheep.

The device of FIGS. I to 8 is formed of a plate portion 11 made, for example, of acrylic resin and having an upper surface moulded to the contours of the front portion of the upper jaw of a sheep. The plate portion has an upwardly extending from lip portion 12.

Apertures 13 are provided and arranged in spaced apart pairs on the lateral sides of the plate portion 11 and form means for facilitating securing the plate in position. Grooves 14 are preferably formed or provided on the underside of the plate (see FIG. 2) and interconnect adjacent apertures forming a pair and are of such a depth as to receive ties or sutures 15 therein so as to avoid or reduce the projection of the ties on the bottom surface of the plate portion and thus provide a smoother surface which reduces wear and avoids irritation.

FIG. 3 shows the device including the ties 15 forming the securing means. Two ties 15 are provided with each tie passing through a pair of apertures 13 with the bottom portion preferably although not essentially lying within grooves 14. A bonding agent (not shown) is applied to the apertures, preferably to the lower surface of the plate in the aperture regions, and sets so as to firmly secure the ties in position. The ties may have knots formed therein; preferably on the lower surface of the plate portion, which additionally act to retain the ties in position. The ties may alternatively be embedded in the plate portion during moulding thereof or even drawn out of the material of the plate portion.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a disc 16 having apertures 17 therein and such discs act as retention members when the ties 15 are passed through the apertures and knotted as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12.

It is to be understood that the device of FIG. 1 without grooves 14 may form the simplest embodiment shown although certain variations may be effected, such by varying the aperture positions and members, without departing from the scope of the invention. The device of FIG. 3 including the ties, and separately, the combination of plate portion, ties and discs also form embodiments of the invention which may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of the attachment to a sheep of a device forming an alternative embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment a plate portion 21 (similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 12) having an upwardly extending lip portion 22 has an aperture in each side thereof for receiving a securing means in the form of a tie-bar or rigid stainless steel (or other noncorrodible metal) pin 23. Pin 23 has an enlargement 23' (ball) at one end and is pointed at the other end; said pointed end having an adjacent threaded portion. In operation, the point of each pin 23' is pushed through an aperture in the plate portion and through the soft tissue. The enlargement 23' engages in the ap erture and enables the plate portion to be held in position. The pin 23 is located by retention means in the form of a disc 24, and nut 25 and lock nut 26 which are engaged with the threaded portion of the pin. Alternatively, the retention means may be in the form of an annular spring loaded device (not shown) which could be fitted over the pointed end of the pin and moved downward to a position to hold the plate portion 21 in position; the fully pointed end of the pin 23 being clipped off.

What we claim is:

l. A method for alleviating the effects of loss of teeth in the lower front jaw portion of a sheep by facilitating the gripping of feedstuff by the sheep which, for feeding, is dependent on a hard surface gripping against a soft surface, comprising insertion of at least one moulded plate into the mouth of the sheep and securing the plate in position against the palate and upper jaw of the sheep by passing tie means through the soft tissue only of the sheep adjacent the jaw thereof, said tie means being secured to said plate and externally of said soft tissue, said plate being formed so as to reduce the free space between the upper and lower jaws of the sheep and to provide a hard surface to enable the sheep to feed.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which the plate is secured by at least one tie means attached to each lateral region of the plate, each tie means being passed through the eye of a needle which is then passed through the soft tissue of the sheep adjacent the jaw thereof and attached to a retention member on the outside of the jaw of the sheep.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which the plate is secured by at least one tie means connected or attached to each lateral region of the plate, said tie means being passed through the eye of a needle which is then passed through the soft tissue of the sheep adjacent the jaw thereof and passed through the flesh of the animal to form a stitch and secured to the plate to retain said plate in position.

4. A device for alleviating the effects of loss of teeth in the lower front jaw portion of a sheep by facilitiating the gripping of feedstufi' by the sheep comprising a plate having a portion formed to substantially correspond to the contours of at least a front portion of the palate and upper jaw of the sheep, a curved lip extending upwardly from a front portion of the plate and substantially corresponding to the outer contours of a portion of the jaw, and means for securing the plate in position on the jaw; said plate being shaped and dimensioned so that. when in position against the one jaw, it provides a surface which co-operates with the toothless portion on the other jaw to enable the sheep to feed.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4, in which the securing means includes ties extending from the plate or connectable to attachment means on the plate and insertable through the soft tissue of the sheep adjacent the jaw thereof, and each tie being connectable to a retention member.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5, in which the ties are made from material selected from the group comprising metal, gut, plastics material and natural filaments.

7. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which the securing means includes ties and each tie is bonded into the plate.

8. A device as claimed in claim 5 in which the attachment means of the plate comprise at least two apertures each receiving a tie.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8, in which at least two spaced-apart pairs of apertures are provided in both lateral regions of the plate and each tie is capable of being passed through a pair of said apertures.

10. A device as claimed in claim 8, in which each tie extends through a pair of apertures in the plate and is retained therein by a bonding agent.

11. A device as claimed in claim 10, in which a recess is formed in the lower surface of the plate between the apertures forming each pair for positioning and location of a portion of the tie.

12. A device as claimed in claim 8, in which an end of each tie is located in an aperture and secured by a bonding agent.

13. A device as claimed in claim 5, in which each retention member comprises a disc having at least one aperture therein for passage and knotting of a tie.

14. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which the securing means are in the form of at least two pins, one pointed end of each pin being insertable through an aperture in the plate, and in which retention means are provided to engage said pin.

15. A device as claimed in claim 14, in which the retention means comprises a disc nut and a locking nut.

16. A device as claimed in claim 14 in which the retention means is a spring biased engagnng device inserted over the pointed end of the pin. 

1. A method for alleviating the effects of loss of teeth in the lower front jaw portion of a sheep by facilitating the gripping of feedstuff by the sheep which, for feeding, is dependent on a hard surface gripping against a soft surface, comprising insertion of at least one moulded plate into the mouth of the sheep and securing the plate in position against the palate and upper jaw of the sheep by passing tie means through the soft tissue only of the sheep adjacent the jaw thereof, said tie means being secured to said plate and externally of said soft tissue, said plate being formed so as to reduce the free space between the upper and lower jaws of the sheep and to provide a hard surface to enable the sheep to feed.
 2. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which the plate is secured by at least one tie means attached to each lateral region of the plate, each tie means being passed through the eye of a needle which is then passed through the soft tissue of the sheep adjacent the jaw thereof and attached to a retention member on the outside of the jaw of the sheep.
 3. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which the plate is secured by at least one tie means connected or attached to each lateral region of the plate, said tie means being passed through the eye of a needle which is then passed through the soft tissue of the sheep adjacent the jaw thereof and passed through the flesh of the animal to form a stitch and secured to the plate to retain said plate in position.
 4. A device for alleviating the effects of loss of teeth in the lower front jaw portion of a sheep by facilitiating the gripping of feedstuff by the sheep comprising a plate having a portion formed to substantially correspond to the contours of at least a front portion of the palate and upper jaw of the sheep, a curved lip extending upwardly from a front portion of the plate and substantially corresponding to the outer contours of a portion of the jaw, and means for securing the plate in position on the jaw; said plate being shaped and dimensioned so that, when in position against the one jaw, it provides a surface which co-operates with the toothless portion on the other jaw to enable the sheep to feed.
 5. A device as claimed in claim 4, in which the securing means includes ties extending from the plate or connectable to attachment means on the plate and insertable through the soft tissue of the sheep adjacent the jaw thereof, and each tie being connectable to a retention member.
 6. A device as claimed in claim 5, in which the ties are made from material selected from the group comprising metal, gut, plastics material and natural filaments.
 7. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which the securing means includes ties and each tie is bonded into the plate.
 8. A device as claimed in claim 5 in which the attachment means of the plate comprise at least two apertures each receiving a tie.
 9. A device as claimed in claim 8, in which at least two spaced-apart pairs of apertures are provided in both lateral regions of the plate and each tie is capable of being passed through a pair of said apertures.
 10. A device as claimed in claim 8, in which each tie extends through a pair of apertures in the plate and is retained therein by a bonding agent.
 11. A device as claimed in claim 10, in which a recess is formed in the lower surface of the plate between the apertures forming each pair for positioning and location of a portion of the tie.
 12. A device as claimed in claim 8, in which an end of each tie is located in an aperture and secured by a bonding agent.
 13. A device as claimed in claim 5, in which each retention member comprises a disc having at least one aperture therein for passage and knotting of a tie.
 14. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which the securing means are in the form of at least two pins, one pointed end of each pin being insertable through an aperture in the plate, and in which retention means are provided to engage said pin.
 15. A device as claimed in claim 14, in which the retention means comprises a disc nut and a locking nut.
 16. A device as claimed in claim 14 in which the retention means is a spring biased engagnng device inserted over the pointed end of the pin. 